FCC chairman proposes new rules to protect online consumer privacy

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When Tom Wheeler was appointed chair of the FCC, many feared his history as CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association (CTIA) would taint his ability to head an organization tasked with regulating those industries. Instead, Wheeler has proven to support both net neutrality and now, more robust privacy protections for online users.

In a recent Huffington Post op/ed, Wheeler discussed how ISPs gather enormous amounts of information about their users, who have little recourse in the services they use or what information is gathered about them in the process:

“Think about it. Your ISP handles all of your network traffic. That means it has a broad view of all of your unencrypted online activity — when you are online, the websites you visit, and the apps you use. If you have a mobile device, your provider can track your physical location throughout the day in real time. Even when data is encrypted, your broadband provider can piece together significant amounts of information about you — including private information such as a chronic medical condition or financial problems — based on your online activity.

“The information collected by the phone company about your telephone usage has long been protected information. Regulations of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) limit your phone company’s ability to repurpose and resell what it learns about your phone activity.

“The same should be true for information collected by your ISP.”

Wheeler goes on to say he’s proposing rules to the FCC that would give consumers control over how ISPs can use their data, including new rules that would require ISPs to disclose what information they gather and how they use it, and that users should have final say over how that information is used.

FCC chair Tom Wheeler

Wheeler notes that ISPs would continue to have the right to use your information to deliver broadband service to your personal location, and for customer service purposes, and for billing. The new rules would also be allowed to use and share customer information with their affiliates to market other communications-related services (Triple Play services and DVR rental would both seem to fall under this category) unless customers opt-out of receiving such communication.

A potentially significant change to the status quo

Wheeler’s proposal is sure to face stiff opposition from ISPs, many of whom are pushing forward with various plans to track users non-anonymously and to sell that information. Verizon has already announced that it shares personal information with its advertising affiliates through the AOL network — which reaches an estimated 40% of websites. AT&T has long sold its service at a discount, provided customers agree to be tracked and targeted for advertising. Even non-ISPs have begun to get in on the action; Vizio was caught operating a tracking service that was reporting personal viewing habits whether a person had actually signed up for the company’s services or not.

Criticism of Wheeler’s proposal is aligning along corporate and party lines. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association is against the rules change, while Ars Technica quotes Republican FCC Commissioner Michael O’Rielly as saying Wheeler has taken a “reckless approach to an important topic, especially where it clearly lacks expertise, personnel, or understanding.”

From where we sit, Wheeler seems to understand the situation perfectly. And these rules, while they wouldn’t apply to the data collection activities of websites or other services, are still a positive step in the right direction.

Tagged In

If a company is willing to pay me for my information either through the use of a free service or discounted service then I may be willing to provide them my information in exchange. It would depend on the quality of the service, the discount etc… I don’t however like that ISPs have full control overt the info they collect by default and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. Internet is just as analogous to phones as they relate to being able to function in a modern society and approaching as close as you can come to something like electricity. The internet provides unavoidable advantages to being able to work and interact within our society. Because of that it demands a higher level of protections.

JoeB777

Well said. Agreed.

It bothers me that this issue (broadly, of digital privacy)seems to receive relatively little attention in the mainstream media, as of yet.

ephemeris

I have always considered an ISP an ISP. How does this differ with cell phone(wireless) being that it isn’t necesarilly true that your cell phone telco is not ‘exactly’ your ISP ‘carrier. With wired Internet,it is fairly easy to consider the ISP ‘as your carrier. There is only so many wired Internet providers. So they are easy to notice. With the wireless,being a cell is a moving target,would seem that who is the ISP (not necesarilly the carrier now) would be less noticeable.

Maybe I could have worded this differently. ‘Does a wireless ISP ‘have to be the carrier designate of a given device ? Would also then appear that carriers would benifit from non ‘proprietary lock-in. As most wired Internet iteneries would disuss ‘backbone,local,last mile – all mostly non relevant to a wireless ‘bridge hopping’ model. But I dont know.

Privacy is a big deal, . Securing ones data should be the users control. Then providing the ‘service’ should be the ISPs. Where this deliniates is where service performance goes down,and data band get poluted and difficult to manage. For all parties concerned. If data is made ‘less vulnerable’ and is ‘security controled’,there is a lot less to worry about I think.

And then again has your carrier decided for you (by any other reason than insanity),that your limited data band requires further troll.

hargs sgrah

this is really bad.. requiring opt in make something that was questionable before absolutely legal now

they are going to REQUIRE that you “opt in” or THEY WON’T GIVE YOU THE SERVICE.

Just like the terms of service for many websites taht say that if you “click here’ you are waiving any legal capability to sue them for “insert blah blah here”. Thats the new way contracts will be worded.

and you can do nothing because you NEED internet.

so basically.. there will be no choice.

Mairsx

As soon as the other side starts attacking these kind of improvements with blatant fallacies and empty statements – you know the suggestion is a good one. As it obviously is which is very simple to understand.

Those companies are resisting against me having some say over what personal stuff they take from me and then resell it as their property and keep all the profits.

Brett Glass

Brett Glass — former ExtremeTech columnist — here. Unfortunately, this article tells the story that Wheeler and Google lobbyists want the public to hear, but not the truth.

Wheeler is NOT championing the rights of consumers or respecting their privacy. The big threat to privacy comes not from ISPs — who cannot monitor much of users’ traffic due to encryption — but from edge providers such as Google, which Wheeler has been ordered by the White House to favor in all his regulatory initiatives. These edge providers spy on and track users with impunity, while ISPs cannot. The regulations are intended to prevent ISPs, which do not track consumers, from ever even dipping a toe into Google’s business: tracking users and serving them with targeted advertising.

The FCC was chartered as an apolitical expert agency which did not pick winners and losers or involve itself with politics. Alas, under Wheeler, it has run off the rails and become a rogue agency which does just the opposite. All of its recent initiatives — its so-called “open Internet” regulations, its “unlock the box” cable regulations, and now this — overstep its legal authority so as to benefit Google, which has given millions to both Obama campaigns and has embedded lobbyists at both the White House and the FCC. Last fall, FCC Chair Tom Wheeler was threatened with the loss of his post as Chairman if he did not indulge Google’s every whim, and he is now doing so. Consumers should be very wary; this FCC will not protect them from the most egregious invader of privacy in history.

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